Resilient wheel.



F. C. OLDHAM.

l RBSILIENT WHEEL. APPLIOATIONHLED ooms, 1910.

Patented May 21,- 1912..

. and useful Improvements RESILIENT WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent. i

Application filed October 19, 1910. Serial No. 587,961.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK C. OLDHAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New VYork, have invented certain new in Resilient IVheelS; and vI do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.n

This inventionrelates to-wheels for vehi clog and particularly to resilientwheels as vof rubber tiresin having n A. awheel to give it resilregcyby flexing its are necessary in automobiles. A

The object of my invention is to provide a wheel of asimple and `inexpensive construction Whieh will obviate the necessity' a vconstruction for spokes in all directions; ferentially.

My invention consists ofthe parts and combinations hereinafter fully described and claimed.

.In Vthe accompanying drawing, Figure 1 a' ially and circum- .is a'partly sectional and partly full view of the Wheel, and Fig. 2 is a longitudinal seetion of Fi 1, but showing the wheel as it .appears with the proper load on the axle,

i Similarreference characters refer to similar parts in the dltt'erentiviews of the drawn this wheel, a plurality of spokes 1 exand their construction is alike in all, so that describin the construction of'one will sufc'e for al the other spokes. The hub 2 is located'centrally and mounted on kthe axle 3 'in any Iordinary manner, On each side of the hub are fastened the disk plates 4 by means of rivets 5. The rivets 8 serve to fasten the plates at their extremities and the bolts 6 7 and 8a also holdthe plates 4 together while serving essentially for other purposes as will be shown later. The spokes 1 are pivotally fastened at their extremities 9 to the plates by means of the bolts 8, said ends 9 being rectangular and flattened to afford bearing surface and are disposed near 10, the cap having iattened sides, preferably hexagonal, for the. application of a Wrench. 4Externally the spokes are flat-lv tened at the ends 11- to afford bearing surratentediuaym, 1912.'

spoke between its ends is made cylindrical and thin enough to clear the said plates. Guide pins 23'pass through conforming slots in the plates and serve to guide the spokes when actuated circuniferentlally. Inside the tubular spokp v1 and slidable longitudinally is the flexible arrangement consisting ofthe plunger-piston 12 on 'either side of which are the helical springs 13 and 14. The lower projecting rod 15 serves as a'guide within the spring 13 and the upper rod 16 extends from the piston 1 2 to the rim, passing through the spring 14 and the opening 17 in the cap 10 and is fastened pivotally to the flange 18 which in turn is rigidly fastened to the wheel-rim 19 carrying a solid rubber tire 20. The band 'springs 21 are disposed between the spokes and press circumferentially against them. The ends of the springs 22 are held in theslots provided on the square bolts 7 and are formed to grip the bolt 6 from where the bands separate and bear against the fiat surface 11 of the spokes, the band springs being removable by the removal of the bolts 6 and 7.

AWhen the vehicle is running, the desired resiliency of the wheel results from the ac tion of the spokes, and particularly from the pair of spokes that 1s in the vertical position. In said position and referring to Fig. 2, the lWeight onlthe axle presses down the hub andpla'tcs 4 which are rigidly held together, and the rim being fastened to the rods 1G and pistons 12 is caused to assume" spoke and the spring 13 of the lower spoke,

while the spring 13 of the upper spoke and the spring 14 Vot' the lower spoke are merely extended to fill in their increased spaces, without having any effect.

Itis evident that the adjacent spokes at 25 and 2G are acted upon similarly, 'though not to as great an extent, as the vertical r1se of thc rim at that. point is not as great and therefore the action is proportional. The opposite spokes 27 and 2S have hardly any of the described action in this iosition, thc vertical rise of the rim merely swingingr these spokes circumferentially, the pivoted joints at 9 and 18 allowing the necessary freedom for this movement and the spokes `being guided by the flat surfaces 11 bearing against the plates 4; the movement being taken up bythe guide pins Q3 in the slots 24. The spokes and 2G also move slightlyin this manner, since the rod 1G in that case has a. diagonally resultant motion. The springs 2l in pressing forcibly against the spokes serve to take up this lateral swaying of the spokes which is desirable and necessary to give the spokes their circumferential flexibility. It will be evident that as the Wheels roll along each pair of opposite spokes assume in their turn vthe vertical position shown in the drawing and are acted upon as described, after which they assume the other positions and in turn receive the various other described actions.

It will be perceived that when the Wheel is running the above described' construction and the action of the parts has the eliect of pressing the rim against the springs 13 and 14 and disposing the rim to an eccentric position. Meanwhile, the spokcsarc pressed circumfercntially by the eccentricity of the rim and the band springs 21 give Away pressf ingly, thus resulting in giving elasticity to the entire Wheel in every direct-ion. Therefore, it can be seen that all the aforesaid objects and advantages of my invention are fully met, and that the Wheel is compact, reliable and durable, and will absorb any shocks occurring from unevenness of road Without transmitting it to the vehicle and occupants, thus conducing to the general improvement of automobile development.

It must bev understood that my invention is not to be limited to the specific form of construct-ion or arrangement as shown and Adescribed here, but that variations maybe made in praetice Without however departing `.fronr'the spirit and' Vprinciples of my invention.

opies of this patent :may be obtained forve cen'ts each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, f

Washington, D. C.

Having thus described my invention, I

claim l. In a resilient Wheel, a hub, plates se-lv V cured thereto, a plurality of telescopio spokes pivotally secured therebetween, a leaf spring secured between each set of spokes to sai plates, and adapted to bear ciromferen-- tially against said spokes, guide slots insaid plates, concentric Wit-hthe swing of each spoke, lugs carried'by spokes and adapt ed to register in said slots and limit the movement of the parts, the telescopm portion of the spoke having a-piston a a ted j to fit snugly Within said shell ortion o. the spoke, and helical springs wit in said shell portion of said spokes, `adapted to bear against the closures atthe ends .of said shell portion and the ends of the piston.

` 2. In a resilient Wheel for vehicles, a hub,

plates: secured thereto, a plurality of telescopic spokes pivotally mounted between said plates, helical springs Withinv said spokes acting on both parts thereof, leaf springs carried by the side plates and between sald spokes, said springs being adapted to bear circumfercntlally against saidspokes and'soarranged as to exert extreme pressure against only the spoke on Whichthere is a o'cumferential strain7 circumferential slots in said FREDERICK o.- (LDHAi'u.

. Witnesses:

WILLIAM J. COLLINS, 4GILBERT V. OLDHAM. 

